School rosary rules draw ACLU scrutiny

[rug]

By LYNN BREZOSKY, STAFF WRITER
Updated 09:18 p.m., Saturday, November 19, 2011

BROWNSVILLE - Attorneys with the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas said they are looking into whether the Brownsville Independent School District's policy against displaying rosaries and crosses is violating students' religious rights.

ACLU legal director Lisa Graybill said she had filed open records requests to examine district policy following reports that all students were prohibited from openly displaying crosses and rosaries.

"Under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution and Texas' Religious Freedom Restoration Act, students' right to wear articles of faith in school is indisputably protected," Graybill said in a statement Friday.

District Police Chief Oscar Garcia said a handful of students at Simon Rivera High School had been wearing handmade "rosaries" around their heads and waists, which was an indication of affiliation with prison gangs.

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/School-rosary-rules-draw-ACLU-scrutiny-2278240.php

[virgogal]

1. Rosaries and prison gangs. Words fail me.

[prole_for_peace]

2. A rosary as an "article of faith" is not worn as a necklace...

head wrap or a belt/belly chain.

I have gone from Catholic to atheist but if these students are trying to show their faith they would do it the correct way.

IMHO they are just using the rosaries as accessories. And that is fine as long but it is not something the ACLU should defend

[NMMNG]

3. My ex-Catholic wife confirms this

Wearing a rosary as jewelry would be considered sacrilegious. If kids are doing this it's either a gang thing or some sort of "fashion" statement a-la Madonna circa 1980-something. It's certainly not a religious liberty situation.

[Jim__]

5. Part of a nun's habit was rosaries hanging from a belt.

From wikipedia:

Rosary: The nun's rosary of wooden beads and metal links hangs from the belt by small hooks

[prole_for_peace]

6. That was so they could have easy access to it

in an emergency.

It wasn't so it could be admired as an accessory

[auntsue]

4. I was getting all pissed

until I saw it was about "gangs". I worked at a school where different spots teams were identified with different gang neighborhoods, so we had to ban them all. So it's not about religion it's about hijacked symbols.